Who: 43-year-old Julian Lopez
Where: Avalanche Gulch route, Mt. Shasta, California
Their mistake: Just a simple slip
What happened: Two friends attempted to summit Mt. Shasta via the Avalanche Gulch route during nightfall. The men left the Bunny Flats trailhead at 5 p.m. and reached the Red Banks area at 10 p.m. The Red Banks area is a very steep area through various chimneys made of rock outcroppings.
While navigating the Red Banks, one man slipped and fell 2,000 feet before landing on another rocky outcropping. The man’s helmet shattered in the fall, and he suffered a serious hip injury and wasn’t able to move his legs. The friend called for help, but his cell phone battery died during the call.
The next morning a Sheriff’s Department volunteer search and rescue team along with other agencies responded. A chopper was brought in to pluck the man to safety and returned him to the Bunny Flats trailhead where he was taken to a hospital via ambulance. Authorities said the men have both climbed Mt. Shasta before.
Read the story here.
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